Zukerman, Neikrug Bring Out Best In Brahms And Each Other

February 28, 1989|By John von Rhein, Music critic.

Not for Pinchas Zukerman the kind of violin recital that trades in bonbons and prefabricated fluff. This most thoughtful of our major violinists invariably offers serious musical substance over sweetmeats. So it was Sunday afternoon at Orchestra Hall, where Zukerman and his exceptionally congruent and committed pianist, Marc Neikrug, presented a memorable all-Brahms recital. Zukerman being as accomplished a violist as he is a violinist, his agenda included not only two violin sonatas, Opp. 100 and 108, but also the lesser-known Viola Sonata No. 2, Op. 120.

All three works date from the later years of Brahms` career, a time when the composer`s romanticism was tempered by a certain mellowness of expression. In lesser hands three such outwardly similar works might be an invitation to interpretive monotony, but not with Sunday`s performers. Zukerman and Neikrug searched out the distinctive virtues of each piece, balancing strength and passion with poetry, a winning combination in these sonatas. Because their involvement in the music was complete, so was the audience`s.

Zukerman brought to the A-Major Violin Sonata (Op. 100) an impassioned style that clearly respected the classical integrity of Brahms` structure. Some eyebrows might have raised at the violinist`s slow, wide vibrato but the lyrical line held firmly and incidental details did not overwhelm the main musical argument. The duo`s tonal projection and sense of balance could hardly have been improved upon.

Whether they are performed on clarinet or in the alternative viola versions, the Opus 120 sonatas are difficult works to bring off. They don`t reveal their musical intentions as readily as do some earlier Brahms chamber works and, as such, demand a more sophisticated approach. The Second Sonata got just that. Violinist and pianist entered fully into the self-communing mood of the outer movements as readily as they savored the rhythmic elan of the central Allegro.

To the first three movements of the popular Third Violin Sonata in D minor Zukerman brought a somewhat leaner, more tightly focused tone that carried with it a certain emotional restraint. The violinist`s personal brand of romanticism was present, of course, but it stayed discreetly below the surface at least until the Presto, where gutsy abandon reared its head.

Typical of this approach was the Adagio, which Zukerman and Neikrug took faster than usual, with little of the rubato and other expressive devices more emotively inclined fiddlers tend to lavish on it. Violin and piano functioned throughout in inspired dialogue, continually sparking the best of what each was capable of producing.